Talaash! Which part of Mumbai do you want to see?

NUB Marg, Byculla



Bhojpuri Matinee.
A front bencher at Palace Cinema catches his breath during the interval. The Bhojpuri super-hit film 'Devra Bada Satavela' starring superstar Ravi Kishen had one naughty song after the other with gyrating young Shakeela clones. Songs that made it difficult for him and his friends to sit still on the wooden ringside seats that cost them hard-earned 30 Rupees.

Under the seats, are white Erasex bottles that these boys sniff to get a quick high.




These are his friends relaxing before the second half of the movie starts. The first part was an all-out song and dance whirlwind. In the second half, the 3 main heroes in the movie become angry young men of the 80s mould to fight for the transformed Sita-Sati-Savitri the Shakeelas have turned into.




Did you know? Trains have 'Bhopus' not the usual whistles and horns Bharatiya Rail uses across India. And trains do not stop because people pull chains. It's because navel revealing women wave the red flag to disrupt the time table.




Next Change: The naughty fellows. Of course badmashes, you are No. 1.

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The sober crowd who paid Rs 40 for their seats. But once the lights are out, they change colours and turn into whistling front benchers.




The Bhojpuri films are no different from the B-Grade movies that are made across India. In fact, they closely resemble the B-Grade plays that are popular in Karnataka and I guess, in other parts of India. The jokes, music, even the static camera angles are very play-like.
On the other hand, they are no different from popular comedy films that are made in mainstream Bollywood. The dances that our many former Ms World beauty Pageants do are no different except for their carrom board abdomen and fancy locations. And our superstars would give their steroid pumped right hands to command the kind of trance communion these boys who speak Bhojpuri have with their audience.

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